Originally Posted by
jr1202sr
That way you aren't giving Free Breakfast to every United Flyer who rarely stays at Marriott's, but has Gold b/c of the alliance. You then are rewarding your plat's who typically earn their status with BIB.
If a United elite is 'rarely' staying at full service Marriott brands, they're not really taking away from the Marriott elites who do spend a lot of time in the brands. There are plenty of United flyers who have signed up for the gold just in case they end up at a Marriott, but still primarily stay at their preferred chains.
Cheers.